Nursing home residents, staff will be first in line to receive vaccines in New York

Nursing home residents and staff will be prioritized once New York state receives its first round of COVID-19 vaccines by Dec. 15, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports. 

The state is on track to receive 170,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses manufactured by Pfizer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday, with at least 40,000 made by Moderna expected to come at a later date. The exact timeline of when they arrive depends on the federal government granting emergency authorization for the Pfizer vaccine.

There are about 85,000 nursing home residents and 130,000 staff members in the state who could benefit from the initial doses, though the governor said he expected not all would agree to take it. The next priority for receiving them would be other congregate care facilities and then health care workers. 

Prioritization of nursing home residents falls in line with recent recommendations made by a panel advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The committee voted that the first available vaccines be given to health care workers and people living in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes and assisted living.

The announcement comes as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise throughout the state, with the governor now expressing fear that hospitals will be overwhelmed with patients.